Related papers: Computer simulations of interferometric imaging wi…
We present computer simulations of interferometric imaging with the VLT interferometer and the AMBER instrument. These simulations include both the astrophysical modelling of a stellar object by radiative transfer calculations and the…
With the construction of the VLTI (Very Large Telescope Interferometer of the European Observatory ESO for the southern hemisphere) it is now possible to make observations with resolutions of the order of milli-arc-seconds, especially in IR…
We present in this paper an innovative data reduction method for single-mode interferometry. It has been specifically developed for the AMBER instrument, the three-beam combiner of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, but can be derived…
AMBER is the General User near-infrared focal instrument of the Very Large Telescope interferometer. Its specifications are based on three key programs on Young Stellar Objects, Active Galactic Nuclei central regions, masses and spectra of…
AMBER is the first near infrared focal instrument of the VLTI. It combines three telescopes and produces spectrally resolved interferometric measures. This paper discusses some preliminary results of the first scientific observations of…
We present here the current performances of the AMBER / VLTI instrument for standard use and compare these with the offered modes of the instrument. We show that the instrument is able to reach its specified precision only for medium and…
This paper presents a study of the atmospheric refraction and its effect on the light coupling efficiency in an instrument using single-mode optical fibers. We show the analytical approach which allowed us to assess the need to correct the…
Interferometric observations with three telescopes or more provide two observables: closure phase information together with visibilities measurements. When using single-mode interferometers, both observables have to be redefined in the…
The first astrophysical results of the VLTI focal instrument AMBER have shown the importance of the differential and closure phase measures, which are supposed to be much less sensitive to atmospheric and instrumental biases than the…
Differential phase observations with a near-IR interferometer offer a way to obtain spectra of extrasolar planets. The method makes use of the wavelength dependence of the interferometer phase of the planet/star system, which depends both…
The AMBER instrument installed at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) combines three beams from as many telescopes to produce spectrally dispersed fringes from milli-arcsecond angular scale in the near infrared. Two years after installation,…
We obtained near-infrared long-baseline interferometry of IRC+10420 with the AMBER instrument of ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in low and high spectral resolution (HR) mode to probe the photosphere and the innermost…
In optical interferometry, the visibility squared modulus are generally assumed to follow a Gaussian distribution and to be independent of each other. A quantitative analysis of the relevance of such assumptions is important to help…
Our goal is to demonstrate the potential of the interferometric AMBER instrument linked with the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) fringe-tracking facility FINITO to derive high-precision stellar diameters. We use commissioning…
Context. A characteristic feature of young stellar objects is their variability, which is caused by a variety of different physical processes. High-resolution interferometric observations in the near- and mid-infrared wavelength ranges…
The paper investigates the milli-arcsecond scale structure of the present-day mass-loss of the post-Red Supergiant IRC+10420. We use three telescopes of the VLT Interferometer in combination with the AMBER near-infrared beam combiner to…
Classically, optical and near-infrared interferometry have relied on closure phase techniques to produce images. Such techniques allow us to achieve modest dynamic ranges. In order to test the feasibility of next generation optical…
The direct observation of extrasolar planets and their spectra is coming into reach with the new generation of ground-based near-IR interferometers, like the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). The high contrast between star and…
This paper describes the design goals and engineering efforts that led to the realization of AMBER (Astronomical Multi BEam combineR) and to the achievement of its present performance. On the basis of the general instrumental concept, AMBER…
Latest-generation spectro-interferometric instruments combine a milliarcsecond angular resolution with spectral capabilities, resulting in an immensely increased information content. Here, I present methodological work and results that…